Fence-post.



No. 683,270. Patented Sept. 24, 190|.

R. H. GEIGER.

FENCE POST.

(Applieaciou med Nov. 25, 1898.

(llo Model.)

4UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

RICHARD H. GEIGER, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

FENCE-POST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,270, dated September 24, 1901.

Application filed November 25, 1898. Serial No. 697,353. (No model.)

To all whom zit 71mg concern:

Be it known that I, RIcHARD H. GEIGEE, a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Alleghenyand State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fence- Posts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Myinvention relates to fence-posts, its 0bject being to provide a cheap and durable fence-post which will not be liable to rot in the ground and which will have sufficient bulk of base to take a iii-m hold upon the ground. As well known to most users of posts, thel difficulty Wit-h the ordinary farmpost is the rotting of the base in the ground, there being but two or three kinds of woodssuch as locust, cedar, chestnut, and sassafras--which will resist the rotting action for any long period. The cheapest and most durable post is of course 'a wooden one, such post being necessary in making the ordinary Wood fences, while it is preferable even with wire fences, as it is cheaper than the ordinary metal post and the wires can be more easily attached to it. The wire itself as well as the wood exposed above the ground are comparatively durable; but the great objection to the use of the wooden post is the rotting of the portion of the post within the ground, where it is directly exposed to the moisture contained therein. y

The object of my invention is to provide a cheap post in which all fear of the rotting of the base is overcome and which has a large enough base to take a firm hold within the ground no matter what the size of the postbody may be.

It consists, generally stated, in the combination, with the fence-post body having one or more transverse grooves formed in the lower part thereof, of a hollowT terra-cotta or other non-rotting or non-rusting base fitting around the same and a lling of asphaltum or other quick-setting material between the post-body and hollow base.

It also consists in certain other improvements, which will be hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe the base piece.

same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in Which-4 Figure l isla side View of the post embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3 3, Fig. l; and Fig. 4 is a crosssection on the line 4 4, Fig. 2.

The post-body a may be formed of any suitable wood and may be of any suitable shape in cross-section.' I have illustrated it as of square cross-section, that being the most desirable form, and I have illustrated it as of the same thickness throughout, though of course the post may be made of any shape, turned or ornamented as desired. Fitting around this post-bodyis the hollow base-piece b, which is preferably formed of terra-cotta molded to the desired shape and baked, because such terra-cotta forms can be quickly made, and such material probably forms the cheapest form of non-rotting material which could be employed. It is molded to shape in any suitable way and baked, after which it is slipped over the lower end c of the post, and a suitable filling of asphaltum or other quicksetting material, as at CZ, is poured between the post-body and the base-piece and so unites the two together. In order to insure theanchoring of the post within the basepiece, any suitable anchoring means, such as an enlargement or depression in either post or base-piece, can be employed. The simplest form of anchor is obtained by forming a groove e near the base of the post and in line with a groove f Within the hollow basepiece, so that the asphaltum may fit into these grooves `and Alock the post within the One or more grooves may be employed, as desired, and it is not necessary for them to be on the same horizontal plane, an extra groove in the post-body being shown at c' to illustrate this. Indeed, the hold of the asphaltum filling or setting upon the postbody and outer shell is generally sufficient to hold them together without necessity of any such anchoring means.

A wooden post of the above construction and made in the above way can be produced very cheaply, the Whole structure, or, as it might be termed, article of manufacture, costing less than the ordinary iron fence-post,

IOO

and it is possible to ship the same as a regular article of manufacture from the place of manufacture to theV place of use. Inorder to hold the post within the ground and enable it to resist the upward thrust encountered in the sprin g as the frost passes from the ground, I form around the body of the shell or basepiece an enlargementg, this enlargement being located at any suitable point in the shell below its upper end, so that it may be buried under the ground and so that the packing of ground above the same will hold the post down and resist the upward push of the frost Y upon the base of the post as it passes out of the ground.

While I prefer to employ the terra-cotta base-piece, both for lightness, comparative strength, and cheapness of cost, it is evident thatanyother suitablenon-rottnghollow shell canv be employed-for example, posts molded from cement or from asphaltum or other cheap substances which will be known to the skilled worker. The filling between the post and shell may also be changed as found desirable, any suitable properly-setting material, such as cements of different kinds, be-

ing' employed to hold the shell upon the post, Where a `metal post is used, I may employ the'sam'e hollow or shell base-piece'and with practically the same advantage as to the protection of the post, preventing the post from rusting and so gradually disintegrating, it being found that such posts are Very liable to be weakened by the rust, especially where they are made of wrought metal, as they are necessarily made of thin flanged 'bodies to obtain the desired cheapness of post.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination with a fence-post body having one or more transverse grooves in the lower part thereof, ot' a hollow non rotting or rusting base tittingaround the same and having one or more interiorgrooves and a filling of setting material between the post -Vbody and hollow base.

In testimony whereof I, the said RICHARD- H. GEIGER, have hereunto set my hand.

RICHARD I-I. GEIGER. Vitnesses:

RoB'r. D. ToTrEN, ROBERT C. ToTTEN. 

